"It is difficult to see how it can get all these permissions in place, build the bund and scrap the ships before the four ghost fleet ships are legally required to be returned to the United States.

"Able UK and the US authorities followed a high risk strategy in bringing the ships over before all the permissions were in place and against Environment Agency advice. It is likely that the price of this gamble will be the return of the ships to the United States."

Seven permissions or licences are required before Able UK is in a position to scrap the Ghost Fleet ships:

• A new licence for its landfill facility to allow it to deposit PCBs [1].
• Two licences from DEFRA under the Food and Environmental Protection Act 1985 to enable it to build a bund or dry dock in a marine environment and to dispose of dredged materials.
• Planning permission to construct a dry dock or rock-filled bund [2].
• A new or modified waste management licence for its dockyard scrapping facility [3].
• A trans-frontier waste shipment of waste permission to allow it to import the ships into the UK [4].
• Planning permission to allow it to scrap ships [5]

Notes

1. PCBs are highly toxic and can only be dumped in a landfill that is licenced to accept PCBs. By contrast, Able UK's landfill licence for Seaton Meadows (CLE 403) specifically excludes PCBs from being deposited. The licence states that halegonated compounds (which includes PCBs) "shall not be deposited" and that "polyhalogenated biphenyls" (which includes PCBs) "are specifically excluded from deposit at the site except where they arise as part of the normal household waste stream".

2. Hartlepool Borough Council today (Weds 17 Dec) formally determined that the planning permissions are not valid.

3. On 8 December Mr Justice Sullivan ruled that the Environment Agency's decision to grant a modification to the dock waste management licence(TERRC) was unlawful and that it must be quashed. Able will need to apply for a fresh licence.

4. On 31 October the Environment Agency issued a press release stating that the company's approvals (including the TFS approval) were `invalid'. The Environment Agency also wrote to Able UK on Sunday 2 November stating that their consent to the transfrontier shipment of waste could not stand because it could no longer be said that the company had adequate technical capacity for the recovery of the waste under conditions presenting no danger to human health or the environment. Technically, it is MARAD (as the exporter) that must obtain a fresh TFS approval.

5. On 15 December three Hartlepool residents successfully challenged the decision of Hartlepool BC that the scrapping of ships was permitted by Able's previous planning permission. Mr Justice Sullivan ruled that the permission referred to 'marine structures' and that it was clear that

Friends of the Earth will continue to campaign to make sure that the US Government accepts its environmental obligations and scraps its own ships rather than exporting them overseas. Friends of the Earth will also continue to work to ensure no UK owned ships are dumped in developing countries.

Contact details:

Friends of the Earth
26-28 Underwood St.
LONDON
N1 7JQ

Tel: 020 7490 1555
Fax: 020 7490 0881
Email: info@foe.co.uk
Website: www.foe.co.uk